


Little Shop Of Boiling Iles

by JuiceDemon69



Category: Little Shop of Horrors (1986), The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Feed me - Freeform, little shop of horrors - Freeform, little shop of horrors au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:56:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28762944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuiceDemon69/pseuds/JuiceDemon69
Summary: Meek flower shop assistant Willow pines for co-worker Boscha. During a total eclipse, she discovers an unusual plant she names Boscha II, which feeds only on human flesh and blood. The growing plant attracts a great deal of business for the previously struggling store. After Willow feeds Boscha's Girlfriend, Amity, to the plant after Amity’s accidental death, she must come up with more bodies for the increasingly bloodthirsty plant.
Relationships: Boscha/Willow Park
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. Prologue/Little Shop Of Horrors

VOICE  
(nock-serious r  
CHURCH-LIKE '  
MUSIC UNDER)  
On the twenty-third day of the  
month of September, in an early  
year of a decade not too long  
before our own, the human race *  
suddenly encountered a deadly  
threat to its very existence,  
(beat) 

And this terrifying enemy surfaced  
— as such enemies often do — in  
the seemingly most innocent... and  
unlikely... of places... 

The CHURCH-LIKE MUSIC CLIMAXES IN A DRUM ROLL as we see  
light droplets of water hitting and causing RIPPLES IN  
THE IMAGE. IMMEDIATELY, BUBBLEGUM-ROCK MUSIC KICKS IN  
AS CAMERA PULLS BACK to reveal that the above-mentioned  
grey void is really a puddle of muck in a foul Skid Row  
gutter and that a wino is passed out beside it, -his  
long black hair soaking in the goo. We see now that a  
light rain is falling.

LUZ, ED, ERM:  
Little Shop 

Little Shoppa Horrors 

Little Shop 

Little Shoppa Terror 

Call a cop! 

Little Shoppa Horrors 

No Oh Oh Oh No-ohl  
Little Shop 

Little Shoppa Horrors 

Bop sh' bopl 

Little Shoppa Terror 

What 'em drop! 

Little Shoppa Horrors 

No Oh Oh Oh No-oh!

LUZ, ED, ERM  
Shing-a-ling 

What a creepy thing to be happenin'  
(Lookout Lookout Lookout Lookout)  
Shang-a-lang  
Feel the Sturm-and-Drang  
LUZ, ED, ERM (cont.) 

In the air 

(Yeah yeah yeah yeah)  
Sha la la 

Stop right where you are  
Don'tcha move a thing! 

The LUZ, ED, ERM have danced past a storage room and over to a  
man who is sitting at the shop's counter reading a  
newspaper which hides his face. The paper, "The Skid  
Row Herald Examiner." The headline: UNEXPECTED TOTAL  
ECLIPSE! END OF THE WORLD? The man lowers the paper  
to turn the page and we see that it is ClawThorne, the  
shop's owner. He glances at the door, then at the  
clock, sighs, and returns to his newspaper. He does  
not notice the LUZ, ED, ERM who are inches away singing the  
following right to him: 

LUZ, ED, ERM (cont.) 

You'd better 

Tellin' you, you'd better  
Tell yo' mama  
Somethin's gonna get her  
She'd better  
Everybody' d better  
Beware! 

ON the word "beware" CAMERA FOLLOWS the LUZ, ED, ERM as they  
dance over to a closed door. They open it and we CUT  
TO A REVERSE SHOT OF the door as it is being opened and  
the CAMERA LEADS the LUZ, ED, ERM down a dingy flight of  
stairs as they sing: 

LUZ, ED, ERM (cont.)  
(Come-a, come-a, come-a) 

Little Shop 

Little Shoppa Horrors 

Bob sh' bop 

You'll never stop the terror 

As the LUZ, ED, ERM reach the bottom they sing and dance PAST  
CAMERA TOWARDS . . . 

Willow 

. . . who is standing with his BACK TO CAMERA on top of a  
tall and dangerous "ladder" of crates, boxes and books.  
She is putting something away on a high shelf crammed  
with clothes, comic books and assorted junk. She too,  
does not notice the LUZ, ED, ERM as they sing to her:  
LUZ, ED, ERM (cont.) 

Little Shop 

Little Shoppa Horrors 

No oh oh oh no 

Oh oh oh oh 

Oh Oh oh no-oh-oh-oh] 

ON the last extended note of the song the LUZ, ED, ERM back  
AWAY FROM CAMERA and we are LEFT ALONE WITH Willow.  
As he continues struggling we see an old beat-up RADIO  
on the lower shelf next to him from which we hear: 

RADIO (V.O.)  
At his press conference today.  
President Kennedy fielded  
questions concerning last  
Thursday's total eclipse of the  
sun, an unpredicted and  
unprecedented astrological  
phenomenon which has baffled the  
nation... 

DURING the broadcast we see Willow teetering until  
finally, losing his balance, she grabs for the shelf and  
with a pathetic whimper she falls taking it, some potted  
plants, comic books, clothing, junk, and radio down  
with him.

ClawThorne (O.S.)  
Willow, what is going on down  
there? ! 

Willow pops BACK UP INTO FRAME IN A FULL-FACE CLOSEUP  
and shouts: 

Willow  
Very little, Mrs.Clawthrone! 

ClawThorne  
(to himself)  
Aron, g'vorn, g'voxen, akebebble,  
mitzbeleh.  
The basement . These dark surroundings have been trans-  
formed into Willow's pathetic living quarters with  
clothing, a hotplate, jun'- ^ood containers, a sleeping  
cot, and crud everywhere. However, blooming amid the  
decay and the debris are hundreds of strange and exotic  
plants. They're growing lavishly in coffee cans, shav-  
ing mugs, the most unlikely containers, nourished by  
makeshift gro-lights. 

Willow starts picking up the mess he's made. SHe  
starts with the RADIO which is turned over on the floor  
and which is now EMITTING STATIC. SHe hits it and MUSIC  
COMES ON: Phil Spector and the Crystals' 1963 arrange-  
ment of "Uptown" ... 

RADIO (V.O.)  
He gets up each morning and he 

goes downtown.  
Where everyone's his boss and 

he's lost in an angry land.  
He's a little man.  
But then he comes  
Uptown each evening to my 

tenement..,. 

As she's picking through the mess Willow notices a par-  
ticular plant amongst the others that has fallen on the  
floor. SHe worriedly picks it up, puts back the dirt in  
its Maxwell House coffee can and places it under a  
special gro-light, giving the feeling that the plant  
has its own theatrical spotlight. The plant is clearly  
on its last legs. Its avocado-like pod is withered and  
dry, its leaves are brown and its little tendrils  
resemble a polio victim. She tends to it with great  
care.  
Willow hears the sound of high heels clicking quickly  
in the distance. Her expression changes to one of  
longing as he turns and goes to the basement window and  
looks out.  
CAMERA IS NOW ACROSS THE STREET AT AN EXTREME LOW  
ANGLE, we see Willow's hopeful face through the base-  
ment window in the background as a car passes. In the  
extreme foreground a bum is sprawled out on the  
sidewalk.


	2. Skid Row/DownTown

The SOUND OF THE CLICKING HEELS IS UPON US NOW as a  
pair of black pumps ENTERS FRAME stepping over the bum.  
CAMERA MOVES WITH the feet UNTIL they are now walking  
TOWARDS CAMERA. We TILT UP PAST the fishnet Stockings,  
black dress, leopard-skin print jacket, and up to a  
FULL-FACE CLOSEUP OF... 

Boscha 

She is rushing TOWARDS CAMERA. We see she has a black  
eye. 

DOOR CHIME. Eda looks up to see Boscha enter hur-  
riedly. She immediately begins to take off her  
leopard-print jacket, struggling as she does to conceal  
the black eye. 

Eda 

So, she finally decides to come to  
work? 

Boscha 

Good morning, Mrs.Clawthron.

Eda  
What morning? It's almost closing  
time. Not that we had a customer. 

A LOUD CRASH from the basement. 

Eda (cont.)  
What in the name of God is going  
on down there? Boscha, you'd  
better go see what she's...  
(beat) 

Boscha... where did you get that  
shiner? 

Boscha  
(innocently)  
Shiner? 

Boscha starts to hang up her coat and put on her uni-  
form, a frilly pink smock. Eda follows her in. 

Eda 

Boscha, that greasy Girlfriend of  
yours, she's beating up on you  
again? Look, I know it's none of  
my business, but I'm beginning to  
think he's maybe not such a nice  
Girl.

Boscha  
You don't meet nice Girls when you  
live on Skid Row, Mrs.Clawthorne

Willow comes up from downstairs carrying a precarious  
ly balanced pile of clay pots.' 

Willow  
I got these pots unloaded for you,  
Mrs.Clawthrone... 

But even before the sentence is finished, she has lost  
his footing. Willow and the pots fall to the floor  
with an EAR-SPLITTING CRASH, identical to the ones we  
have heard before. 

Eda  
Willow,Look what you've done to  
the inventory! 

Boscha  
Don't yell at Willow, Mrs.Clawthorn

Willow  
(still on  
the floor)  
Hi, Boscha. You look radiant  
today. Is that new eye makeup? 

Boscha  
I'll help her clean it up before  
any customers get here. 

Eda  
Well, that oughta give you plenty  
of time. 

Eda moves through the shop toward the front door. 

Eda (cont.)  
Look, God, what an existence I got. 

EXT. STREET - DAY ! 

Eda  
Misfit employees, bums on the  
sidewalk, business is lousy... my  
life is a living hell. 

She notices Edric, Emira and Luz lounging idly  
on the stoop next door to the shop. 

Eda (COnt.)  
You! Uichins! Off the stoopi It  
ain't bad enough I got the winos  
permanently decorating the  
storefront? I need three  
worthless ragamuffins to complete  
the picture? 

The Girls start walking away as they speak. 

Emira 

Oh, we ain't botherin' nobody.  
Are we Edric? 

Edric  
No we're not, Emira. 

Eda  
(following them)  
You oughta be in school. 

Edric  
We on the split-shift. 

Emira  
Right. We went to school 'til the  
fifth grade. Then we split. 

Eda has stopped following them. 

Eda  
(shouting at them)  
So how do you intend to better  
yourself? 

Edric  
Better ourselves? You heard what  
She said. Luz? Better  
ourselves? Miss, when you from  
Skid Row, ain't no such thing. 

The Girls turn the corner into a darkened, narrow  
street where we see trash cans and fire escapes, and a  
WING lying amidst the filth. About twenty yards in the  
distance we see a WOMAN. She is in her fifties, wear-  
ing a working uniform. She could be a waitress or a  
maid. An old, worn coat hangs from her shoulders.  
She seems very tired and walks very slowly TOWARD  
Camera.  
WOMAN  
(singing)  
Alarm goes off at seven  
And you start uptown  
You put"' in your eight hours for the  
powers  
That have always been. 

Edric  
(spoken)  
Sing it, child. 

WOMAN 

Till it's five P.M. 

WINO  
(sits up)  
Then you go, . . 

He falls back down. 

The Girls join the Woman as they walk up the narrow  
street to the main Skid Row Street. 

WOMAN AND GIRLS  
Downtown, where the folks are broke  
Downtown, where your life's a joke  
Downtown, when you buy your token you 

go. . .  
Home to Skid Row  
Home to Skid Row 

WINO 2  
(ENTERS SHOT)  
Yes, you go. . . 

He falls OUT OF SHOT. 

From around a corner, from an alleyway, from a fire  
escape, from a tenement building... MORE PEOPLE (maids,  
janitors, bus boys, bag ladies, waitresses, bums,  
messengers, etc.) join the Woman and the Girls. The  
group builds in strength and passion and takes over the  
street in a number whose choreography is not dance but  
rather, impassioned, rhythmic movement. 

NEW PERSON 1  
(on the street)  
Downtown, where the cabs don't stop. 

NEW PERSON 2  
fin a tenement window)  
Downtown, where the food is slop. 

PERSON 2 joins the others on the street. 

NEW PERSONS 3 & 4  
(from an alleyway)  
Downtown, where the hop-heads flop  
In the snow! 

ALL  
Down on Skid Row!  
Down on Skid Row! 

ALL (cont.)  
(plus more from around  
a corner) 

Uptown you cater to a million jerks  
Uptown, you're messenger and mailroom  
clerks 

Eating all your lunches at the hot dog  
carts 

The bosses take your money and they  
break your hearts. 

A 1950 's bus stops and discharges a few more people who  
join the throng. 

ALL (cont.)  
And uptown you cater to a million  
whores  
You disinfect terrazzo on their  
bathroom floors  
Your jobs are really menial, you make  
no bread  
And then at five o'clock you head... 

WINO  
(from behind garbage can)  
By subway... 

ALL  
Downtown. 

Boscha is on the sidewalk emptying broken clay pots  
into a trash can. We see the chorus reflected in the  
Shop' s window. 

Boscha 

Where the Girls are drips. 

ALL (O.S.)  
Downtown! 

Boscha  
Where they rip your slips. 

ALL (O.S.)  
Downtown! 

Boscha  
Where relationships are no-go! 

Boscha walks into the street where everyone is posed  
hyper-dramatically (a la "West Side Story") singing in  
powerful chorus. She, also singing, moves amongst  
them. 

ALL PLUS Boscha  
Down on Skid Row  
Down on Skid Row  
Down on Skid Row  
Down on Skid Row  
Down on Skid Row  
Down on Skid Row  
Down on Skid Row! 

INT. SHOP - DAY .11  
Willow is sweeping her mess. 

Willow  
Poor!  
All my life I've always been poor  
I keep asking God what I'm for  
And He tells me,  
Gee, I'm not sure 

(mimicking Hushnik)  
Sweep that floor kid! 

(Herself again)  
Oh! 

I started life as an orphan, child  
of the street  
Here on Skid Row! 

During the previous lyrics, CAMERA has turned a full  
360 degrees to show the chorus in the background and it  
now FOLLOWS Willow out of the shop onto the sidewalk  
as he sings: 

Willow  
She took me in, gave me shelter  
A bed, crust of bread and a job  
Treats me like dirt, calls me a slob...  
Which I am  
So I live 

Everyone on the street is now moving, very slowly, not  
unlike zombies. (Boscha is no longer with them.)  
Willow joins them in the street and walks amongst  
them. 

ALL  
Downtown 

Willow  
That's your home address, you live...  
ALL  
Downtown 

Willow  
When your life's a mess you live... 

ALL  
Downtown 

Willow  
Where depressions' s jes' status guol 

ALL  
Down on Skid Row! 

HIGH, WIDE SHOT Of chorus in. background on Main Street  
as Willow turns and walks into a narrow alley. He is  
alone and singing to himself. 

Willow  
Someone show me a way to get outa here  
'Cause I constantly pray I'll get outa  
here 

Please won't somebody say I'll get outa  
here 

Someone gimme my shot or I'll rot here. 

CAMERA CRANES DOWN WITH Willow as he stops in front of  
an old rusty cyclone fence which creates a cul de sac.  
CAMERA is now BEHIND the fence as we see Willow  
through the steel mesh. Suddenly a filthy hand comes  
up grabbing the wire, followed by its body, and another  
body, and another, and another. We see that the bodies  
are those of BUMS slowly crawling up the cyclone fence  
almost on top of each other as they menacingly sing to  
Willow who is backing away and also singing. 

Willow 

Show me how and I will Downtown 

I'll get outta here There's no rules 

I'll start climbin' For usl 

Uphill Downtown 

Willow (CONT'D)  
And get outta here 

Someone teXX me  
I Still 

Could get outta here 

ALL (CONT'D)  
'Cause it's dangerous  
Downtown, where  
The rainbow's just  
A no-show I 

Willow, feeling trapped, runs out of the a.:' y. 

Willow  
Someone tell Lady Luck  
That I'm stuck here  
When you  
live. . . 

During the following we INTERCUT between Boscha and  
Willow, each of whom are at different parts of the  
street. They wander about melodramatically trying to  
get away from the filth and degradation of Skid Row. 

Willow AND  
Boscha  
Gee it sure would be  
Swell to get outta here  
Bid the gutter  
Farewell and get outta here  
I'd move heaven and  
Hell to get outa Skid...  
I'd do I dunno what  
To get outa Skid  
But a helluva lot  
To get outa Skid 

ALL  
Downtown 

Where the sun don't shine  
Downtown 

Past the bottom line  
Downtown  
Go ask any wino he'll 

know.  
Downtown  
Downtown 

Unable to escape from the shackles of Skid Row, and  
feeling desperately trapped, they stop at either side  
of a corner building. They do not see each other as,  
in an overly dramatic, yet heartfelt plea, they sing to  
the heavens. The sky becomes lyrical and pink and the  
entire chorus moves in slow, deliberate, guasi-Jerome  
Robbins choreography as everyone sings with starry-eyed  
intensity. 

Willow AND  
Boscha (cont.)  
People tell me  
There's not a way  
Outa Skid  
But believe ne  
I gotta get  
Outa Skid Row 

ALL (Cont.)  
Downtown  
Skid Row!


	3. Da-Doo

Clawthrone, Willow and Boscha are in the shop,   
depressed, glances up at the clock. 

Clawthrone   
Look at that! Six o'clock and we   
Haven’t sold so much as a fern.   
All right. That's it. Don't   
bother coming in tomorrow. 

Boscha   
You don't mean... 

Willow   
You can't mean... 

Clawthrone   
What? What? What don't I mean?   
'I mean I'm closed, forget it,   
kaput. 

Boscha   
You can't! 

Clawthrone   
Kaputl Extinct. I'm closing this   
God and customer forsaken place. 

Willow   
Mrs.Clawthrone, forgive me for saying   
so, but has it ever occurred to   
you that maybe what the firm needs   
is to move in a new direction? 

Boscha   
Willow, why don't you run   
downstairs and bring up that   
strange and interesting new plant   
you've been working on? 

Willow helpfully exits. 

Boscha (cont.)   
You see, Mrs. Clawthrone, some of   
those exotic plants that Willow's   
been tinkering around with are   
really... unusual... and we were   
both thinking that maybe some of   
those strange and interesting   
plants, prominently displayed and   
advertised, would attract   
business. 

Willow is now standing behind them holding the same   
withered plant we saw earlier in the basement. It   
looks even worse than it did before. 

Willow   
I'm afraid it isn't feeling very   
well today. 

Boscha   
There, now isn't that... bizarre? 

Clawthrone   
At least. What kind of a weirdo   
plant is that, Willow? 

Willow   
I dunno. It looks like some kinda   
flytrap, but I haven't been able   
to identify it in any of my books.   
So I gave it my own name. I call   
it an Boscha Two. 

Boscha   
After me? 

Willow   
I hope you don't mind,   
(beat)   
You see, Ma’am, if you put a strange   
and interesting plant like this,   
here in the window, maybe... 

Clawthrone   
Maybe what? Do you have any idea   
how ridiculous you sound? Just   
because you put a strange and   
interesting plant in the window,   
people don't suddenly... 

A CUSTOMER opens the door to the shop. 

CUSTOMER   
Excuse me. I couldn't help   
noticing that strange and   
interesting plant. 

Clawthrone and employees look up in amazement. 

CUSTOMER (cont.)   
What is it? 

Willow   
It's an Boscha Two! 

CUSTOMER '   
I've never seen anything like it   
before. 

Willow   
No one has. 

CUSTOMER   
Where did you get it? 

MUSIC: A harp? Bells? The kind of thx.-v that   
signalled a flashback in musicals of the forties and   
fifties. Willow looks off into the distance,   
conjuring for Herself the vision of his first encounter   
with the plant. 

Willow   
Well — you remember that total   
eclipse of the sun a couple of   
weeks ago? 

FLASHBACK   
Through this entire sequence, we hear Willow in V.O.   
and see him in the situations he describes. Edric Emira, And Luz are always in the recalled scenes   
with him, just sort of there , hanging out on a stoop or   
lurking in a corner, singing backup with appropriately   
choreographed girl-group gestures. 

GIRLS   
(sung)   
Da Doo. 

Willow is walking along, fascinated by the foliage for   
sale. 

Willow (V.O.)   
(spoken)   
I was walking in the wholesale flower   
district that day... 

GIRLS   
Shoop Da Do 

She passes a strange- looking florist's shop, its sign   
printed in Chinese characters. 

Willow (V.O.)   
And I passed by this place where this   
old Chinese man. . . 

CLOSEUP: An elderly Mandarin with a crazed and evil   
leer. 

GIRLS   
Chang!   
Da Doo 

Willow and the Mandarin shake hands. 

Willow (V.O.)   
He sometimes sells me weird and exotic   
cuttings. . . 

Mandarin chops a leaf off a plant with a dangerous-   
looking Oriental saber. 

GIRLS 

Snip!   
Da Doo 

Mandarin extends the leaf to Willow. 

Willow (V.O.)   
'Cause he knows, ya see, that strange   
plants are my hobby. 

Willow examines it. 

GIRLS 

Da da da da da   
Da Doo! 

And decides not to buy it. 

Willow (V.O.)   
Be didn't have anything unusual there   
that day. 

GIRLS 

Nope!   
Da Doo. 

Willow starts to walk away. 

Willow (V.O.)   
So I was just about to, you know, walk   
on by... 

GIRLS   
Good for you! 

But suddenly, Willow stops dead in her tracks. She  
notices something in the sky! 

Willow (V.O.)   
When suddenly and without warning —   
There was this. . . 

THE SKY. A total eclipse occurs before our eyes. 

Willow & GIRLS (V.O.)   
Total eclipse of the suni 

Willow (V.O.)   
It got very dark. 

Just as suddenly,: the eclipse is over. We're back on   
the street and Willow looks at the Mandarin in   
puzzlement. The Mandarin glances down at a row of   
flower buckets containing cut flowers. 

GIRLS   
Da Doo! 

Among the flower buckets, now, sits one strange and   
interesting plant — a baby version of... 

CLOSEUP - THE Boscha TWO 

Willow (V.O.)   
And when the light came back, this   
weird plant was just sitting there. 

GIRLS   
Oops-ee-do! 

Willow (V.O.)   
Just stuck in, you know, among the   
zinneas. 

Willow picks up the plant and examines it. 

GIRLS   
Aud-ree Twol 

Willow (V.O.)   
I coulda sworn it hadn't been there   
before, but the old Chinese man sold it   
to me anyway . . . 

Willow fishes in her pocket for one dollar and some   
change which she gives to the inscrutable MANDARIN. 

Willow (V.O.) (cont.)   
For a dollar ninety-five. 

Willow walks up the street, away from us, carrying her  
new plant. 

GIRLS & MANDARIN (V.O.)   
Sha la la la la la   
Doo doo doo doo!


	4. Grow For Me

CUSTOMER   
Yessir, that's an unusual story   
and a fascinating plant. 

He turns to leave. Mrs.Clawthrone, Willow and Boscha   
exchange a look of mutual disappointment. And the   
Customer turns around. 

CUSTOMER (cont.)   
Oh... I, might as well take fifty   
dollars' worth of roses while I'm   
here. 

Mrs.Clawthorne  
(stunned)   
Fifty dollars? Yessir! Right   
away, sir I 

CUSTOMER   
Can you break a hundred? 

Mrs.Clawthrone  
(She knew it was too   
good to be true)   
A hundred. Er, no... 

CUSTOMER   
Well, then I'll just have to take   
twice as many, won't I? 

He hands Mrs.Clawthrone a hundred dollar bill. 

CLOSEUP of Willow. 

Willow   
Twice as many? 

CONTINUED:   
CLOSEUP of Boscha. 

Boscha   
Twice as many? 

BUMS   
(mouthing it... in   
mime)   
"Twice as many?" 

The two Bums quickly glance to the front door. 

CLOSEUP of CUSTOMER 2 opening front door. 

CUSTOMER 2   
That plant in the window, it's   
simply amazing! 

CLOSEUP of CUSTOMER 3 opening front door. 

CUSTOMER 3   
That plant in the window,   
wherever 'd you get it? 

CLOSEUP of CUSTOMERS 4 and 5 opening front door. 

CUSTOMER 4   
Look, there it is, Marge. 

CUSTOMER 5 (MARGE)   
Oh my gosh, it's peculiar 1 ' 

CLOSEUP of the two Bums as they open the front door.   
They are about to speak" when a look of fear crosses   
their faces and they turn and run as all the Customers   
come piling out of the front door. They are laden with   
bunches and bunches of flowers and are excitedly   
babbling about that amazing plant. 

Mrs.Clawthorne  
(in the doorway,   
waving good-bye)   
Thank you! Come again! You know   
where to find us! Come and look   
at the weirdo plant some more.   
It's just gonna get bigger and   
more interesting! 

He comes inside. There are no more flowers in the   
shop. Sold out. 

Mrs.Clawthrone   
Well, don't just stand there!   
Quick, quick, quick. Put that   
plant. . . what do you call it? 

Willow   
Boscha Two. 

Mrs.Clawthrone   
Put that Boscha Two back in the   
window where the passersby can see   
it! I don’t mind admitting I'm   
wrong when I'm wrong and I'm   
wrong. My God, I'd never have   
believed it. My children, I'm   
taking us all out to dinner! 

Willow, excited, looks at Boscha. Boscha looks up,   
intensely disappointed. 

Boscha   
Oh, I'd like to, Mr. Mrs.Clawthrone, but   
I have a date. 

She heads for the storage room. Mrs.Clawthrone follows her   
in. 

Mrs.Clawthrone   
With the same nogoodnik?  
Boscha removes her work smock and starts to put on her   
jacket. 

Mrs.Clawthrone   
I'm telling you, Boscha, you don't   
need a date with her. You need   
major medical. 

She closes her jacket, looks up meekly, forces a sad,   
embarrassed smile. 

Boscha   
Enjoy dinner. 

As Boscha hurriedly passes through, Willow gazes at   
her longingly. 

Boscha   
Goodnight, Willow. 

Willow   
Goodnight. . . 

And she's gone. Willow looks sadly off in her   
direction. Mrs.Clawthrone emerges from the storeroom. 

Mrs.Clawthrone   
Poor girl. 

Willow   
(forlorn. Trying to   
cheer Herself up)   
Are we still going to dinner? 

Mrs.Clawthrone is about to answer kindly when his eye notices:   
THE PLANT 

It has wilted since we last saw it. It droops over the   
side of its pot at a forty-five degree angle. Three   
very serious descending MUSICAL CHORDS underscore the   
SHOT . 

Mrs.Clawthrone approaches the plant, picks it up, and takes it   
to Willow. 

Mrs.Clawthrone   
You're not going anywhere,   
Park! You're staying right   
here and taking care of this sick   
plant! 

Willow   
I told you it's been giving me   
trouble. It just wilts like   
this. The Boscha Two is not a   
healthy girl 

Mrs.Clawthrone   
Strictly between us, neither is   
the Boscha One. 

Willow   
If only I knew what breed it was,   
what genus. But it's nowhere in   
the books. 

Mrs.Clawthorne  
Well,Park, my advice to you   
is you better figure it out and   
fast. Look what this exotic-   
little beauty did for business. 

Willow   
I know. 

Mrs.Clawthrone   
So work, Willow! Nurse this   
plant back to health! I'm   
counting on you! 

Willow   
I know. 

Mrs.Clawthrone   
(donning her coat   
hat and scarf)   
You do? 

Willow   
I do. 

Mrs.Clawthrone   
So fix! Goodnight! 

MUSIC IN: The intro to "Grow for Me." As we watch   
Mrs.Clawthrone disappear, sunset gives way to evening. One by   
one, lights pop on in windows up and down the street.   
Winos light fires and huddle beside them with brown-   
bagged bottles. A light pops on in Willow's basement   
room. 

Willow is looking through the basement window at. . . 

Boscha 

Standing in the window of her own tenement flat, across   
the street. She has changed outfits and is now looking   
into a mirror on her wall, struggling to conceal her   
black eye with Cover Girl liquid eye makeup. 

Willow gazes up at her with painful longing, then   
returns his attention to his pathetic botanical   
charge. 

He sings as he works with misting can, spade and   
fertilizet. It is an intimate moment with a boy and   
his plant. 

Willow   
I've given you sunshine   
I've given you dirt   
You've given me nothin'   
But heartache and hurt.   
I'm beggin' you sweetly,   
I'm down on my knees.   
Oh please, grow for me.   
I've given you plant food   
And water to sip.   
I've given you potash.   
You've given me... zip!   
Oh God, how I mist you.   
Oh pod, how you tease.   
Now. please, grow for me. 

Willow grabs a gardening -book from the shelf and leafs   
through it. 

Willow (cont.)   
I've given you southern exposure   
To get you to thrive   
I've pinched you back hard, like I'm   
S ' posed ta   
You're barely alive   
I've tried you at levels of moisture   
From desert to mud 

She gives up for a while and starts putting his room in   
semi-order. 

Willow (cont.)   
I've given you grow-lights and   
mineral supplements.   
What do you want from me?   
Blood? 

Willow picks up some dead roses, the thorns of which   
have pricked his finger. It bleeds just a little...   
but brightly. 

Willow (cont.)   
Damned roses! Damned thorns! 

Willow rummages around through a box to find some   
band-aids. Her finger keeps bleeding. Near her, a   
light from behind casts the plant's shadow on the   
wall . Suddenly . . ..   
The shadow moves. In silhouette, the pod has opened   
up, Willow notices this and turns around to see — 

Boscha Two, open wide, as if asking for something. 

Willow moves toward it. It opens wider. She is   
puzzled by this behavior, then shrugs it off and   
returns to his previous activities. She puts a band-aid   
on his finger, hiding the blood. 

The plant closes. 

Willow notices this and begins to get the idea. He   
removes the band-aid and raises her finger in front of   
the pod. Sure enough, it opens again. 

Willow slowly hides her finger behind his back. And   
just as slowly, the pod closes. She reveals the blood   
again. The plant opens. 

Now She tries to trick it. She moves her hand down-up   
very fast. With amazing reflexes, the plant shuts and   
opens. Willow gulps and sings: 

Willow (cent.)   
I've given you sunshine.   
I've given you rain.   
Looks like you're not happy,   
'less I open a veinl   
I'll give you a few drips   
If that'll appease...   
She squeezes a few drops of blood from his finger into   
the gaping pod. It snatches for the red stuff like a   
puppy for a biscuit. Willow, a little sickened by her  
own action and even more so by his plant's response,   
turns away from the pod and starts upstairs. 

Now please-oh please-grow for me!

Boscha Two is alone now, lit by a shaft of moonlight   
pouring in through the basement window. As MUSIC   
BUILDS under, the dirt in which the plant is potted   
begins to stir. The dry surface erupts like a small   
earthquake. Roots begin to push through.   
The Maxwell House coffee can starts to shake, then   
bulge. At last, the plant itself begins to grow.   
The pod sort of bubbles, then swells. New leaves   
appear, first as buds, and then unfurl before our   
eyes. The stem extends three inches, then four.   
By the time the MUSIC REACHES ITS CLIMAX, the plant is   
a sturdy foot-and-a-half tall. It then bends its SteiTi   
gracefully and rises back up. If we didn't know   
better, we'd think it had just taken a curtain call.


	5. Somewhere That’s Green

An ANNOUNCER sits at a desk in a small radio station.   
Be speaks into a microphone. 

ANNOUNCER   
This is radio station WSKID... 

He plays five NOTES on a small CHIME. 

ANNOUNCER (cont.)   
Where in just a few minutes we'll   
be bringing you "Gus Porters's   
Weird World!" The show that talks   
to wonderful people who bring in   
their weird things. But first,   
the news ... 

(he changes his voice   
to make it very deep)   
... The President today   
announced . . . 

It is separated from the studio by glass. We faintly   
hear the news broadcast as we see, sitting in a chair,-   
a man holding a fish which is stuffed and mounted. The   
fish has a human nose and mustache. Next to the man   
and fish is seated a little boy holding a Rube   
Goldberg-type machine. Next to him, and also seated,   
is a six-foot tall wooden ventriloquist's dummy.   
Sitting on the dummy's lap is a live midget who is   
casually smoking a cigarette. And next to him is   
Willow with Boscha Two on his lap. They are all   
patiently waiting their turn. 

The plant is now a good twelve inches taller than when   
we saw it last. Willow wears ten band-aids... one on   
each of her fingers. Unseen by the others, including   
Willow, Boscha Two starts leaning towards the engineer   
who is adjusting some dials. The plant inches closer   
to the engineer. 

Only when the plant has its pod open and is about   
bite the engineer, does Willow notice. He grabs   
pod and pulls it back. 

The Announcer is finishing the news. 

ANNOUNCER   
(still with a low voice)   
. . . Partly cloudy on Saturday with   
highs in the mid-seventies. 

He bangs on the CHIME again , five times.   
ANNOUNCER (cont.)   
(back to Voice No. 1)   
And now, "Gus Porters' s Weird   
World!" with your host, Gus Porter! 

Through the glass, in the background, we see an   
assistant get Willow and the plant. 

MUSIC: Theme of "Gus Porter's Weird World!" 

ANNOUNCER (cont.)   
(same announcer, but   
now with still another   
voice)   
Thanks, Ted. Ei, everybody.   
We've got a great show for you   
today. Some wonderful people with   
some really weird stuff,   
(waving at his   
assistant to   
bring in Willow)   
Our first guest is someone you've   
probably read about in the papers   
by now... Mrs. Willow Park who   
has discovered a new breed of   
plant life hitherto unknown on   
this planet. Hello, Mrs.Park.

Willow   
Uh, hello...Gus. 

ANNOUNCER   
Say, I sure wish the folks at home   
could see this . Where did you get   
such a weird plant? 

Willow   
Well... you remember that total   
eclipse of the sun a couple of '   
weeks ago? 

Luz, Edric and Emira pop up from behind the   
engineer. 

GIRLS   
(sung)   
Da Doo! 

Willow 

(spoken)   
I was walkin' in the wholesale   
flower district that day... 

The CASH REGISTER RINGS. Its drawer opens as, from it,   
Clawthorne grabs and counts wads of money. In the back-   
ground we see a sign in the window. It reads:   
"Welcome to Clawthorne' s — » Home of the Boscha Two." A   
"Closed" sign is on the door. 

ANNOUNCER (V.O.)   
(on radio)   
And thus we conclude our interview   
with Willow Park, the young   
botanical... er, do you mind if I   
Call you a genius? 

Willow (V.O.)   
Gosh, no

Clawthorne shakes his head in disbelief. 

ANNOUNCER (V.O.)   
The genius who has discovered   
America's largest and most amazing   
unidentified plant. 

Willow (V.O.)   
I'd like to remind our listeners   
that the Boscha Two is on display   
exclusively at Clawthorne's Skid Row   
Florist's... 

During the above. From inside we see that Boscha is   
outside banging on the front door. Clawthorne rushes over   
and opens it. Her black eye is a little better, but   
She now wears her' arm in a chic leopard-print sling. 

Boscha   
Am I late? Did I miss it? 

They move to the RADIO, on which we hear Willow strug-   
gling to get his last words in as the ANNOUNCER con-   
cludes the broadcast. 

Willow (V.O.)   
That's Clawthorne's...C... 

L*«* A««W**T«   
Thorns... Open six days a week,   
ten to six! 

ANNOUNCER (V.O.)   
And so until next   
Wednesday, this is Gus Porter saying so   
long and watch out for   
What's weird. 

Clawthorne switches OFF TEE RADIO. 

Clawthorne   
That's what I call advertising. 

She grabs his coat and starts out the front door with   
Boscha following. 

Boscha   
Willow's first radio broadcast.   
I wanted to hear so bad. I tried   
to be on time, but... 

Clawthorne and Boscha on the sidewalk. Clawthorne locks the   
door. 

Clawthorne   
Don't tell me. You got tied up. 

Boscha   
No, just handcuffed... a little. 

We see a large picture of Willow and the plant hung   
near the sign in the display window as Clawthorne walks   
Boscha across the street.

Mrs.Clawthrone  
Handcuffed. Boscha, I don't know   
who this noodnick is you're   
hanging out with/ but he is   
hazardous to your health. 

Boscha   
That's. for sure. But I can't leave him. 

Mrs.Clawthrown  
Why not? 

Boscha   
She’d get angry. And if she does   
this to me when she likes me,   
imagine what she’d do if she ever   
got mad. 

They arrive at her tenement door. Clawthorne sighs in   
exasperation and leaves. Boscha turns and enters her   
building. 

It is a typical, small Skid Row apartment, however,   
Boscha has tried to cover the poverty in which she   
lives by decorating it in a style we would call "Frilly   
Woolworth' s." 

She enters and looks out her window at the picture of   
Willow across the street as she sings: 

Boscha   
I think Willow's the greatest   
But I'm dating a semi-sadist.   
So I got a black eye   
And my arm's in a cast.   
Still that Willow's a cutie. 

She looks at his picture again, then decides to be   
honest. 

Boscha (cont.)   
Well, if not   
She’s got inner beauty   
And I dream of a place   
Where we could be together   
At last. . . 

She pulls out her treasured collection of magazines:   
"House and Gardens," "Better Homes," "Woman's Day." 

MUSIC SViELLS lyrically as she flips them open to   
favorite pictures: model kitchens with avocado-   
colored, double-c. .r refrigerators, playrooms with   
knotty pine panelling, pristine Early American bedrooms   
with white chenille spreads and doily-covered night   
tables. An exterior shot of a "contemporary" split-   
level house, circa 1961. 

She sighs and continues singing: 

Boscha (cont.)   
A matchbox of our own.   
A fence of real chain link   
A grill out on the patio   
Disposal in the sink   
A washer and a dryer and   
An ironing machine   
In a tract house that we share.   
Somewhere that's green. 

CAMERA PUSHES into the picture. 

Boscha'S DAYDREAM 

She's in the magazine pictures now, dressed for all the   
world TTke Barbara Billingsley from pumps to pearls, a   
ruffled apron protecting her shirtwaist. 

She moves from room to room of a perfect (and perfectly   
awful) suburban cheesebox — dusting the plastic-   
covered sofa, adjusting the pole-lamps, straightening   
the hand- tinted, pi as tic- framed photos — singing all   
the while. 

Boscha (cont.)   
She rakes and trims the grass   
She loves to mow and weed   
I cook like Betty Crocker   
And I look like Donna Reed   
There's plastic on the furniture   
To keep it neat and clean   
In the Pine-Sol scented air   
Somewhere That's Green. 

ORCHESTRAL INTERLUDE - a brief dream ballet. 

The mood now is pure Leslie Caron as the rest of   
Boscha's dream is danced out. 

We see a merrily pot-bellied Willow mowing the lawn in   
a brightly colored Ban-Lon shirt, as a COCKER SPANIEL   
YAPS at her heels. 

The children watch Saturday Morning TV as Boscha   
appears with a smiling pitcher of Kool-Aid. The   
daughter is platinum blonde like her Mom and wears a   
little leopard-print pinafore. The son is prematurely   
balding at seven years old and wears glasses and cap   
identical to his other Mother. 

Boscha ushers neighbor ladies in pedal-pushers and   
curlers to a table set for Mah Jongg. In a flash,   
she's back with bridge-mix and crustless tuna fish   
sandwiches. 

Boscha and neighbor at a Tupperware party. 

Boscha dances to the oven to put in four Swanson TV   
dinners. 

Outside, the sun begins to set over a development where   
all the houses look just like this one. 

INT. PLAYROOM AT NIGHT 36 

Boscha and Willow snuggle on the couch. The kids are   
on the floor, watching Lucy with her hand stuck in a   
bowling ball. Even the dog and cat are snuggled and   
enjoying the program. Boscha continues to sing in V.O. 

Boscha (V.O.)   
Between our frozen dinner   
And our bedtime, nine-fifteen   
We snuggle watching Lucy   
On our big   
Enormous   
Twelve- inch screen 

Boscha and Willow tuck the kids into bunk beds and   
chuckle at the pets asleep with them. 

Boscha (V.O.)   
I'm her December Bride   
Be's mother’s, She Knows Best   
The kids' room, next to our room   
And a third room for a guest   
A picture out of   
Better Homes and Gardens Magazine 

Boscha and Willow reach the threshold of their Early   
American bedroom. He lifts her up and we tactfully — 

CLOSEUF of Boscha at ber window singing. CAMERA SLOWLY   
PULLS BACK as she looks out and sees a bleak Skid Row   
cityscape of brick walls, garbage, fire escapes, and   
passed-out winos. 

Boscha   
Far from Skid Row   
I dream we’ll go   
Somewhere That's...   
Green. 

CAMERA has pulled back across the street so we see an   
EXTREME WIDE SHOT of Boscha's tenement. Eers is the   
only bright light we see in this dark, decayed street.


End file.
